


What We Could Have Been

by pavvlove



Category: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Genre: I love my boy Archie sm...., M/M, There may be more to come :)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:14:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24664438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pavvlove/pseuds/pavvlove
Summary: When Archie left Vegas for a stint in San Francisco's crime lab, he didn't quite think it through.(For Tumblr prompt; "You left your underwear back at my place.")
Relationships: David Hodges/Archie Johnson
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	What We Could Have Been

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FrozenMemories](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrozenMemories/gifts).



"Hey, just wanted to let you know that I miss having you around here, I hope that you're doing well in San Fran, and that... Uhh... You left your underwear back at my place." a voicemail from David Hodges rings from the home phone system that sits on Archie's nightstand. It wakes the dark-haired man out of a deep sleep just minutes before his alarm goes off. Archie hasn't even heard David's voice in almost three months at this point. Why is he just now calling?

That, and David clearly would have said something long ago if it were a problem- and if he knows David well enough, it definitely would pose as a problem as it's a foreign object laying around his house that doesn't belong to him. He typically has something to say about that, Archie's learned.

But for the man on the receiving end of the call, the exact night that said pair of underwear was left is still a vivid memory; almost as if it were just last night. it wasn't left there like, on purpose, but he can't help but laugh to himself knowing that it was. He has no choice but to think of it now.

It was a spur of the moment type of thing; not that they were ever together together. The moment was right, they were drunk and it was more or less of a mutual physical attraction that had been building for a while as they had been constantly pressed up against each other in a lab for over five years. Strange how that can happen.

But the reason they haven't spoken isn't a breakup in particular; it's only because the man laying in bed has been transferred to San Francisco's crime lab for a while. It's only for a year or two, though- and he plans to go back to Vegas.. eventually. One day.

Truth be told, Archie misses David a lot, and what happened between them that night was probably one of the most fun nights of his life, which is genuinely saying a lot considering those exciting nights in college. With that, he makes a mental note to call him later as he starts to get ready for work.

_Archie remembers the Vegas lights in great detail, being pinned up against the brick exterior of a swanky bar, his breath hitching under David's as they made out so passionately that you'd believe it had been a long time coming. Maybe it had been. It almost felt like some sort of experiment that you'd conduct to figure out what you were truly feeling for your best friend, except Archie had known for a long time exactly who he liked, and David probably had too.  
"Let's take this back to my place." was not something Archie would expect to ever hear from David, but it's exactly what he said before they walked out onto the sidewalk to call a cab._

_Archie remembers his heart racing; almost as fast as the first time he saw a dead body. He was visibly shaken, but not in the same way. David never opened up to anyone the way he did that night, and to know that he had the pleasure of even seeing the inside of his house to this day makes Archie feel just a tad special.  
David's house was cozier than expected, yet at the same time it made a lot of sense. Kobe was incredibly welcoming to Archie's company, rubbing against his leg as soon as he walked in the door. But coziness wasn't the reason that David had Archie wrapped up in his sheets, their bodies pressed up against each other.  
God, he misses him, though. So much more than he thought he ever would. It's funny how after nearly five years of sharing nothing more than a job and an interest for Star Trek, they couldn't stop touching each other in the Taxi ride back to David's condo. Or the next morning. And the pair of underwear? Thinking about it now, he can't exactly remember why he left it, or why he decided that leaving David's house that morning with everything except for them was a good idea. Funny how that works. _

The voicemail continues to ring through his head throughout the day; he can't get David's voice, or his laugh out of his mind. How did he ever go back to work like normal after that night? Why is he just now thinking about it so hard? And it's not like he hasn't had his number this whole time. This was totally more than he had bargained for.

Meanwhile, back in Vegas, David continues to examine the garment in question that lays on his bedroom floor. But he could honestly care less about the underwear right now, and more about the fact that Archie never answered his call. Logically, he realizes that it could have been for a number of reasons and that it doesn't particularly mean that Archie doesn't not want to talk to him, but he can't help but wonder if he had said something wrong during the time frame between the night they had shared and the time that Archie left for San Francisco.

He can't help but notice that it does happen a lot, though. And most of the time, he doesn't realize where he's offended someone with his snarky, sarcastic nature or his fake sense of a God complex until it's too late.

And it sucks, too, because David didn't realize just how much he cared about Archie until he was gone. Now he thinks about him all the time, and wonders why he didn't just call him sooner. Like, way sooner. Before he even left.

Mutually, but unknowingly, the two spend the rest of the day thinking about each other, and contemplating what may have lead to the passion that they had felt. Both can agree that it felt repressed, and that the night out paired with shots was just an excuse to let that tension go.

By the end of the day, Archie finally manages to gather the courage to shoot David a text. It's short, simple and right to the point.

'Wanna skype?' Despite being in the lab at the time, David replies almost immediately with, 'Why? Do you want to see the underwear? I can't show it to you, I'm at work.'

'Maybe.' Archie laughs as he replies, 'I mean, they're mine!' David laughs as he imagine hearing Archie from across the lab saying those exact words before another text pops up, 'I want to see you, though.'

Archie drops his phone on his kitchen table, covering his face as a reflex. Was that too risky?

"I wouldn't mind seeing you either." David says, texting 'I go on break in fifteen. How's that?' back to him.

Once Archie uncovers his face and looks at the screen, he almost squeals like a kid, his heart racing the same way that it did when he first found himself so close to David. "Perfect." he says, picking up the phone to text back.


End file.
